Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Expedia weekly volatility elevated at 219 into Q4 and outlook Expedia February weekly call option implied volatility is at 219, March is at 57, April is at 47, July is at 43; compared to its 26-week average of 40 according to Track Data, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q4 results on February 6.

Expedia hits 52-week high after Q2 profit tops estimatesShares of online travel company Expedia (EXPE) are rising after the company’s second quarter adjusted profit topped analysts’ consensus estimates and it reported strong gross bookings. WHAT'S NEW: After the close on Thursday, Expedia reported Q2 adjusted earnings per share of 89c, topping analysts' consensus estimates of 84c, on revenue of $1.66B, in line with the consensus projection. The company reported adjusted EPS, excluding eLong (LONG), of $1.02. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Expedia reported Q2 room night growth, excluding eLong, grew to 35% year-over-year, with domestic and international room nights growing 24% and 50%, respectively. It reported gross bookings and revenue, excluding eLong, increased 20% and 15%, respectively. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, gross bookings increased 28%. In Q2, Expedia added nearly 27,000 properties to its global supply portfolio, which now stands at approximately 257,000. ANALYST REACTION: RBC Capital said this morning that Expedia's results were "surprisingly strong," given intra-quarter comments by the company. The firm raised its price target on the name to $140 from $130 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. PRICE ACTION: In early afternoon trading, Expedia rose $11, or about 10%, to $118.65 on more than twice its average daily trading volume. Earlier in the session, the stock made a fresh 52-week high of $119. Including today’s advance, the shares have gained approximately 50% over the past year. OTHERS TO WATCH: Other online travel companies include Priceline Group (PCLN), which is up 2.3%, Travelzoo (TZOO), which is up 0.6%, Ctrip.com (CTRP), which is up 1.8% and Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) and Tripadvisor (TRIP), whose shares are flat.

On The Fly: Top stock stories at middayThe Wall Street averages began the session slightly lower, soon turned mixed and have all returned to positive ground near midday. The Nasdaq has been the strongest of the indexes throughout. The S&P 500 is trying to hold onto its gain of about 1.5% for the month as July comes to a close. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the employment cost index for the second quarter increased 0.2%, versus expectations for an increase of 0.6%. The Chicago PMI business barometer index bounced to 54.7 in July, topping the expected reading of 50.8. The final reading of the University of Michigan consumer confidence index for July came in at 93.1, which was down from the 93.3 flash reading and below the 94 that was expected. In Europe, Athex stated that the Athens Stock Exchange will reopen on August 3. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) declined 2.9% and 3.6%, respectively, after both energy majors reported lower than expected earnings due to falling oil prices. Exxon noted that its Downstream and Chemical segment earnings increased significantly from the second quarter of last year, but that those higher earnings were more than offset by the impact of weaker Upstream realizations and lower asset management gains. Chevron, meanwhile, recorded impairments of $1.96B and other charges of approximately $670M relating to project suspensions and adverse tax effects, all of which stemmed from a downward revision in the company’s longer-term crude oil price outlook. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), which rose 13% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in advanced merger talks with Coca-Cola bottlers for Germany and the region of Spain, Portugal and Andorra. Also higher following their earnings reports were MoneyGram (MGI), which gained 27%, Expedia (EXPE), which added 10%, and SkyWest (SKYW), which rallied 20%. Among the noteworthy losers was FireEye (FEYE), which fell 5% after reporting quarterly results and announcing that CFO Michael Sheridan intends to leave the company. Also lower following their earnings reports were Ocwen Financial (OCN), which fell 28.5%, and Hanesbrands (HBI), which dropped 10%. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 10.36, or 0.06%, to 17,756.34, the Nasdaq was up 18.60, or 0.36%, to 5,147.38, and the S&P 500 was up 3.98, or 0.19%, to 2,112.61.

Expedia reported strong results, says RBC CapitalRBC Capital believes that Expedia's results were "surprisingly strong," given intraquarter comments by the company. The firm raised its price target on the name to $140 from $130 and keeps an Outperform rating.

Expedia July weekly volatility elevated into Q2 and outlook Expedia July weekly call option implied volatility is at 125, August is at 53, September is at 41; compared to its 52-week range of 22 to 65, suggesting large near term price movement into the expected release of Q2 results on July 30.